Drive
by JaneGray
Summary: A Iori X Kyo story set after KoFXI. How is Iori going to cope without his flames? How is Kyo going to cope without his stalker? Shōnenai and some cussing.
1. Iori

**Drive**

The buildings were severely damaged, some had collapsed, rubble and burned cars littered the streets. Miraculously, there didn't seem to be dead bodies anywhere. The horrific fire had been so sudden, it had been impossible to prevent it from spreading and engulfing everything, but the inhabitants had been evacuated promptly thanks to the efforts and bravery of a resident gang. Then, as quickly as they had come, the flames disappeared, leaving behind a wrecked and silent city.

The silence was broken by the sound of a man's steps. His pace was smooth and steady, his posture slightly stooped, red bangs fell over his eyes. If the place had not been deserted, an unobservant onlooker may have thought that the man was in sorrow for the sad state of his surroundings; but a closer inspection would have made the onlooker immediately change their mind and cower in terror, for the man's eyes were filled with mad homicidal rage.

Normally, Iori Yagami would have been indifferent to the destruction around him. But this time, it was personal. After stealing his flames, Ash had gone and _set a city on fire!_ He was mocking him!

Iori could still smell the smoke, and it enraged him even more, if such a thing were possible, reminding him of the very power that had been his to control. It was his birthright, his life, his destiny. The robbing bastard had to pay.

That night, the wronged fighter had come so close to deliver the rightful punishment! _So close!_ After searching all over for months, he had finally found Ash in that city. But the coward had blinded him and fled leaving no trace, and Iori was back to square one.

The mockery hadn't ended there. The one time in ten years the heir of Yagami hadn't been looking for his archenemy, _naturally_ Kyo had to be right there of all places. And it's not like the so-called 'Champion of The King of Fighters Tournament' was doing something useful either, like tracking down Ash. No, he was wasting time fighting with some random punk.

For some reason Kyo was holding back, but the punk was going for the kill. Iori was _sick_ of people trying to take away what was his. He put an end to the farce and, before leaving, reminded Kyo once again that their strife could only end with Kyo's death by Iori's hands (or the other way around, but Iori wasn't going to lose), so Kyo had no right to get himself killed by anybody else.

Unfortunately, their last duel would have to wait, there was something else the red-haired fighter had to do first. Ash had to be hiding somewhere, and Iori was going to find him and kill him. Not only did that louse deserve to die painfully, but his death may have restored Iori's power too.

_Are you sure you want to find him?_

Iori's eyes narrowed.

_Perhaps it is for the best that you lost your flames._

Kagura's words sounded as clear in his mind as when she had spoken them to him, shortly after the Tournament.

_For the sake of humanity, we Three Sacred Warriors must defeat__ Yamata no Orochi__ and all those who seek to break its seal, and in order to do that we need our power. But for your own sake, Iori, perhaps__ it is for the best that you lost your flames._

Foolishness. His flames were his doom, so what? They made him stronger. Who cared if they had been cursed by Orochi, humanity's nemesis? Who cared if they would have caused him to die young, like all the Yagami heirs before him? He would have lived long enough to kill Kyo, and that was enough. With Kyo gone, Iori's life would have lost its meaning anyway, he might as well have found peace in death.

They made him stronger. Without his power, finding Ash had been pointless, the maggot had escaped with ease and Iori had been unable to stop him. The long months of tireless search, wasted.

The extremely proud and stubborn warrior would rather have bitten his tongue off than admit it, even to himself, but deep down he knew he was having serious difficulties. Ever since he was toddler, he had been trained to fight with pyrokinesis. Now that he couldn't control fire anymore, his fighting skill had considerably worsened, and not just because he had lost the ability to execute his most devastating attacks… While fighting he instinctively tried to summon flames, wasting precious seconds and making a lot of useless movements, with the result that his moves were slower and awkward.

Iori was used to pain, pain was something he had lived with all his life since the very beginning, when the Curse of Orochi had caused his mother to die of childbirth. But it still hurt him to realize that, the way he fought now, he couldn't possibly defeat Ash, let alone Kyo, or even the annoying clown who had gotten between him and Ash shortly after the burst of fire. To stand a chance, he had to stop relying subconsciously on a power he didn't possess anymore, he had to completely rid his fighting style of even the smallest spark.

But the ancient Yagami martial arts was intrinsically tied with pyrokinesis. Furthermore, no matter how many times in the last months Iori had tried to summon flames and failed, his subconscious and reflexes refused to let that fact sink in and kept on making him try whenever he fought. Drastic measures were needed.

There was but one way for him to alter his knee-jerk responses: he had to rebuild them from scratch. And as his special moves required ignition, then he had to either modify them or come up with brand-new ones. It would take many months and enormous efforts, but it was necessary: only after a most rigorous training would he be ready to kill Ash, and hopefully take his power back.

He had to abandon fire in order to regain it. The irony was too much. Despite his anger, Iori couldn't help but chuckle till he cracked and a burst of maniacal laughter filled the desolate streets.


	2. Kyo

The thing Kyo disliked the most was putting in effort. Thus, his insuperable skill in martial arts, which had cost him enormous efforts year after year, was as precious to him as life itself. The heir of Kusanagi couldn't imagine life as a normal, weak man, but he was sure losing his power would have been as shocking (and, on the long run, as deadly) as finding himself unable to breath.

So, naturally, he was quite pissed over a certain freckly bastard who, after stealing Yagami's and Chizuru's power, had claimed Kyo would be next. If a couple of years ago Kyo had been told that the day would come when he'd despise somebody more than he did NESTS, the brunet would have snorted, blissfully oblivious to the existence of Ash Crimson.

Ironically, in a way Ash had actually been a blessing for Kyo. Thanks to the theft of Yagami's flames, Kyo's long-time stalker had finally stopped following him around to start stalking Ash instead. Good riddance!

Or so Kyo had thought.

Despite the fact that Yagami was a freak obsessed with killing him, since the end of the latest King of Fighters Tournament Kyo had surprised himself by wondering time after time whether the red-head was doing all right, and even by worrying for him.

It was perfectly normal, there was nothing weird or wrong about that. After all, the Champion of the Tournament was a good guy, and Yagami had been a constant in his life for ten years. They had even defeated a god and saved the world together once, and according to Chizuru they were going to do it again soon. Considering all that, If Yagami was in trouble of course Kyo'd be concerned. It's not like Kyo _missed_ him or something, it was just the brunet's innate kindness.

Besides, Kyo had to admit it was sort of fun to have a worthy rival. One might even have said that the heir of Kusanagi _enjoyed_ fighting Yagami, no other opponent was as tough and persistent.

Now that Yagami had lost his power and switched his focus from Kyo to Ash, Kyo couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever fight his archrival again. The last time they had met, two weeks ago in a burning city, Yagami had not stopped to challenge him as usual, instead had just informed him that Ash had escaped, made the same old same old blah blah blah death threat, and left without throwing a punch.

Kyo should have been happy. Ok, so fighting Yagami was kind of fun, but it wasn't worth the trouble. Who wanted a stalker? Let he-of-the-Pretty-Woman-fingernails deal with the hassle. Kyo should have celebrated. He _certainly_ shouldn't have felt cheated. It was stupid and it made no sense. _Who wanted a stalker?_

It's not like the red-head didn't have an extremely good reason to consider Ash his top priority now, anyway. It's not like Yagami had ditched Kyo over some random guy.

…Kyo didn't like the direction his thoughts were taking. He decided a nice ride on his bike would help clear his mind.


	3. Kyo and Iori

Thirty or so hooligans lay bleeding on the ground, likely the result of a fight with a rival gang. Kyo had run into them during his ride, and had already called ambulances.

They looked badly hurt, but seemed all alive. Kyo approached one who was still conscious.

"Hang on, help is on the way."

"Nhh… that… fucking son of a… bitch…!"

"Don't talk, you are injured."

"A monster… he was… a fucking monster!"

"'He'? It was one man who did this?"

"Hands like claws… unstoppable…"

"…Spare your breath and hang on, the ambulances will be here soon."

Kyo wasn't a hero like Terry Bogard or Kim Kaphwan, he wasn't a cop like Blue Mary nor a soldier like the Ikaris. It wasn't his duty to protect people or apprehend criminals, and he already had his hands full anyway, what with a manicure-obsessed bastard intent on stealing his power and a new bunch of psychos trying to resurrect Orochi.

But he was a good guy, and if a violent troublemaker was nearby, the brunet figured kicking his ass would be the right thing to do. Besides, if the guy was strong enough to take on thirty opponents, he was probably a decent enough fighter to entertain Kyo for a couple of minutes, and hopefully take Kyo's mind off a certain red-read…

So Kyo hopped on his bike and sped on, following the road ahead. There were no light posts, but the sky was cloudless and the moon and the stars shone brightly. It wasn't long till he spotted the silhouette of a man walking along the road. When the bike's headlights illuminated the man's back, the astounded rider pulled the brakes hard.

_No!_

But there was no mistaking that icon of the crescent moon, the symbol of the Yagami Clan.

_**Him**__ of all people!_

Kyo's mental curse would have made the hooligan from before blush like a choirboy. So much for getting his mind off him…! What to do now? Was Yagami the attacker? Had he gone Blood Riot again? Was ignoring Yagami, turning around and getting away the best course of action? Or was it fighting him to help him come back to his senses before more people got hurt, and maybe even to get back at him for the beating at the end of the latest Tournament?

Kyo was still rapidly considering the possibilities, when the red-head stopped dead in his track, turned around and, as if annoyed, asked: "What do you want, Kyo?"

_What?_

For a few seconds they just stared at each other, the annoyed expression never leaving Yagami's face. Kyo could now see clearly the blood on Yagami's hands, confirming his suspicions. Then, the biker took off his helmet and spoke.

"Picking on amateurs, are you? Back to grade school, Yagami?"

"Says the guy who is still in high school."

_Gah!_

"That has nothing to do with this!"

"And what would 'this' be?"

"First you go after me, then you go after Ash, now you are going after random hooligans. What next, you'll go after hookers like Jack the Ripper? You need therapy, lots of it."

"So you have a problem with my training method? The way I exercise is none of your business. Now leave me alone, I still have a lot of work to do and I can't afford distractions."

"**What!?** _You_ are telling _me_ to leave you alone!?"

"That's what I said."

_Unbelievable! The nerve of that guy, after stalking me for ten years…! What a hypocritical, infuriating bastard!_

Kyo was so enraged that he completely dismissed the 'training method' part. He got off his bike, hands itching to wrap themselves around Yagami's neck, and assumed a mock-hurt tone to disguise his anger.

"Me, a distraction? I thought I was your raison d'être."

"You are my one true enemy, and you will die by my hands. But not now. I have other business to take care of before I kill you."

"Right. Like beating the crap out of small fries and stalking the one person in the World who is more of a freak than you are. So many psychoses, so little time."

For an instant, it looked like Yagami was going to retort. But then he just turned around and started walking away without a word.

Kyo dropped all pretense now and snapped, his tone ferocious and his eyes flaring up.

"Fine! Ignore me! Good riddance!"

Once again, the moon-bearing fighter stopped dead in his track and turned around, but this time his expression was incredulous.

"Kyo," his voice was soft and disbelieving, but serious, "are you jealous?" It didn't sound like a joke.

It was extremely rare for Kyo Kusanagi, cockass extraordinaire, to be left speechless. But Yagami's utterly ludicrous question did the trick.

"Clearly, the loss of your power has made you insane. Well, more insane than you already were anyway. Should have expected that, after Chizuru gave her blessing to Shingo joining our Team. If _she _flipped out…"

"You are blushing."

"You are delirious."

"You _are_ jealous," the incredulous expression turned into an amused smirk, the infuriating bastard looked about to point and laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that, you dateless freak. I'm sure Yuki would find your claims hilarious."

Yagami didn't reply. Instead, he walked towards 'his one true enemy', and stopped a few inches from him.

Kyo expected him to make another of those same old same old death threats the red-head was so fond of, or to glare at him ominously (more like ridiculously), or maybe to throw a punch. He did _not_ expect him to lean forward and kiss Kyo's lips.

The sudden and overwhelming shock left the brunet completely inert, and the tiny part of his brain that was still functional didn't scream bloody murder (as it should have!), but instead marvelled at the softness of Iori's lips (so unlike the painful blows exchanged in their strife) and the gentleness of the kiss (was that really the same beast who could, and often had, beat people to death?).

Iori did not move further, just continued pressing his soft lips gently against the other man's, keeping his eyes open all the while, silently daring Kyo to make a move.

Let it not be said that the heir of Kusanagi backed off from a challenge.

Proud and defying, the tip of Kyo's tongue pushed slightly against Yagami's mouth, requesting access, which was promptly allowed. It was chancy and awkward at first, but soon both men got the hang of it, kissing fiercely, tongues fighting for dominance like their owners did on the battlefield, refusing to concede. Eventually, even that duel ended with a draw, as both fighters broke contact at the same time.

They panted for long seconds, the taste of the kiss still lingering in their mouths. Naturally Kyo was very upset, but Yagami looked disturbingly unruffled.

"What was _that_ for?" The threat in Kyo's accusatory tone was about as subtle as a giant neon sign.

"I felt like doing it."

"You 'felt like doing it'. That's it? You 'feel like' molesting a guy and you go for it? How typical of you."

"Not just any guy. Not just any person. Only you."

"What about your 'other business'? Aren't you going to molest them too? I bet Ash would love it."

"You did."

"Bullshit. You dared me, I had to take you on. Doesn't mean I enjoyed it."

"Keep telling yourself that. I'm sure your girlfriend would believe you."

Kyo's mind filled with panic, "You aren't going to tell her!?"

Yagami's expression turned scornful, as if the mere suggestion that he'd do something like that offended him.

"No. I'm not interested in your affairs, only in your death by my hands."

Leave it to that sociopath to make a death threat feel so relieving.

"Kyo, you are my one true enemy, never forget that. Ash, the clowns who are trying to resurrect Orochi, even Orochi himself… They are but annoying bugs that I have to get rid of to clean the battlefield for my last duel with you. I want it to be perfect, memorable. So, now I have to go and work hard to make sure nobody will spoil it. But after the annoyances are dealt with, I'll be back for you. Wait for me, Kyo."

With that, Yagami walked away, and this time his archrival didn't try to stop him. Kyo stayed there for a while longer, gazing at the night sky. They said you could see your future in stars. Kyo was no astrologer, but he could clearly see Iori's image on the surface of the moon.


End file.
